A guide for Christmas, and always

A lesson from the San people of Africa

Wilbur Smith is one of my favourite writers.  His novels are set in Africa, and his fictional stories take place against a rich background of accurate African history, culture and tradition.

Smith’s “The Burning Shore” is set in the Namib Desert, one of the most inhospitable places on earth.  Centaine, a shipwrecked pregnant European woman, is rescued from certain death by a San* man and woman, H’ani and O’wa.  They guide her safely across the barren, hostile desert, teaching her the ways of survival along the way.  At one point, O’wa admonishes Centaine for wanting to overharvest plants in the fragile ecosystem:

“What will they say of us?” The words hit me like a thunderclap when I read them earlier this year.

Overconsumption is at the root of our biggest environmental challenges, and Christmas is the biggest overconsumption feeding frenzy of the year.  Ironically, gifts exchanged at Christmas are often not wanted, not needed or of poor quality (so they end up in the trash by Easter).  They often cause debt for the giver, and often don’t bring joy to the recipients.  

So this year, why not resolve to consume less (because really, you’re a person, not a consumer), and instead choose gifts that are better for the body, soul, community, pocketbook and planet?

• Experiences like live theatre; outings like date night or family night; fun activities like bowling or skiing
• Eco-friendly (and local?) personal care products like soap, lip balm and lotions
• Eco-friendly gifts like a compost pail, beeswax wraps or reusable containers for leftovers to replace the need for single-use Styrofoam and plastic in the kitchen
• Gifts from thrift stores (and there are a ton of great deals on great nearly-new products if you know where to look!)
• A subscription for a food box from a local community-supported agriculture farm
• Books or courses on gardening, energy efficiency, renewable energy or other sustainability topics
• Commemorative donations to organizations that do good for the community or the planet, like the Nature Trust of New Brunswick; the Nature Conservancy of Canada; the TransCanada Trail; Learning for a Sustainable Future; the David Suzuki Foundation; the Conservation Council of New Brunswick; your local shelter, community kitchen or food bank; or another organization that shares your values
• The gift of time: a visit or phone call to someone who could use a bit of company far more than more stuff

In short, this Christmas, why not resolve to consume in a way that will have future generations say of us, “They left us abundance.”  Then carry that sentiment past the holidays and into every day of the year.

Happy holidays, and see you in 2023!

*formerly known as Bushmen

Toward a values-based Christmas

Take a deep breath and…

Have you ever felt a little ripped off after Christmas is past?  Perhaps you were so busy preparing that you missed the joy of anticipation; you were so busy during Christmas that couldn’t savour the special moments; and just when you had a bit of time to relax, everyone had gone home and it was January.  Quite a paradox for what’s supposed to be the biggest holiday of the year.

But here’s some good news: the antidote to the mental stress many experience this time of year is also really good for the planet: a Christmas centered around love, joy and simplicity also means less unwanted stuff, less trash and fewer emissions (not to mention fewer bills). So why not use this time of year to reflect on what’s really important in our lives, and let a joyful Christmas just unfold accordingly?  Here’s a blog posting, “Time to pause, ponder what we truly value,” that may help set the stage, part of a larger National Catholic Reporter Simple Advent series (and don’t worry, it’s not preachy). 

Happy, peaceful, tranquil, safe, low-impact Christmas!

Toward a crap-free Christmas

The Christmas Sustainability Pyramid

‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’.  But it’s also become the biggest consumerism feeding frenzy of the year, with an enormous impact on the planet.  Modern Christmas seems characterized by cheap goods manufactured unsustainably far away; they arrive with a huge shipping and delivery carbon footprint; they generate a lot of packaging trash; and they often have an uncomfortably short life that ends in a landfill.  Couple all of that with the fact that much of what we buy is neither needed nor wanted, and one can’t help but think: there’s got to be a better way.

Fortunately, there is – but instead of me lecturing, why don’t I just refer you to the graphic below?  I like it because:

• It packs a lot of good advice into a small package (my faves: experiences, not things; and make something you KNOW someone will love)

It’s nicely organized in the form of a hierarchy, starting with the very best practices at the bottom, and then working up from there.  (Notice that names like Costco and Walmart do not appear.)

Christmas should never be Grinch-like; in these times in particular, we could all use a good celebration.  So let’s do just that, only not at the expense of the planet that sustains us.

Thanks to subscriber Don Ross for sharing this graphic from www.asustainablelife.co.uk.

Gulp – only five more sleeps ‘til Christmas!

Last-minute tips for a low-stress, greener Christmas

Still scrambling for gifts?  Me too, in spite of my annual promise to self that it won’t happen again.

Here are a few ideas to help you cross those last names off your list – and tread more lightly on the planet in the process!

• For the foodie, a share in a local community supported agriculture operation that will provide a weekly box of fresh, local food
• Coupons for hair care, gym membership, home cleaning, snow removal, massages, theatre or dinner at a local restaurant
• Homemade items like knitted goods, baking, preserves, soap and crafts

And:

• Shop secondhand stores for nearly-new clothing, books, music, electronics, furniture and more at a fraction of their original prices
• Make commemorative donations to organizations that share your values: a homeless shelter, food bank, nature trust or animal shelter
• Purchase carbon offsets for your friends. Learn more at tinyurl.com/COffsetInfo.

Even more ideas here.  So don’t stress out, and Happy Green Holidays!

Tips for eco-friendly travel

Be light on the planet this vacation

Want the best vacation with the least impact on the planet?  Here are five tips:

If flying:

• Travel as lightly as you can; every ounce that doesn’t travel with you saves fuel (and notice how baggage charges are starting to reflect that reality?)
• Consider offsetting your air travel with carbon offsets; not perfect, but the best in the here-and-now

And whether you’re flying or not:

• Walk, bike, paddle or use public transit as much as possible at your destination
• If possible, choose a hotel that has a sustainability certification like Green Key, Green Seal or Green Globe (there are others too)
• Choose local food and bevies (often much better tasting too!)

Thanks to Bullfrog Power for these tips; read more here.

Fun & festive alternatives to wrapping paper

Better ways to wrap

Wrapping paper, long a part of our holiday traditions, has an unfortunate downside: it’s not recyclable.  That’s because it usually has a very high ink content, may be laminated with non-paper materials and may have plastic, ribbons and glitter mixed in.

The good news: there are MANY alternatives to wrapping paper that can be as fun and festive.  Here are a few:

• Paper gift bags that can be used over and over; or even home-decorated lunchbags
• Fabric bags with festive designs
• Festive scarves, or a square of seasonal fabric from your local fabric shop
• Newspaper, especially the comics page; or any page decorated with homemade art
• Cans, jars, baskets or tins (my wife intercepted a beautiful, large cookie tin on its way to the trash at a recent office event!)
• Old calendars or maps (which can be big enough to wrap just about anything!)
• Leftover wallpaper scraps

Seasons greetings and best wishes for 2017!

Ideas for a less-stuff Christmas

Two thoughts, many possibilities

I recently read a piece where the author confessed that her most vivid memories of childhood Christmases were not of gifts, but of people and traditions.  The author of another piece wrote that her own transition to a minimalist Christmas was prompted by waking up on too many boxing days with the sinking feeling that somehow, in the flurry of consumerism, the very best of Christmas had been missed yet again.

Two good reasons to aspire to a ‘less stuff’ holiday, and here’s a third: all that stuff isn’t very good for the planet either.

So here are some ideas to help you edge toward a stuff-less holiday:

• Green electricity certificates
• A piece of the TransCanada trail
• Support for nature preserves: the Nature Trust of NB or the Nature Conservancy of Canada
• For people who’d love to see you, time
• Games, classes, memberships, subscriptions, books
• More ideas here.

Happy stuff-less holidays!

No glowing review for glow sticks

Why not use alternatives to glow sticks?

In recent decades, glow sticks have become popular, especially at parties, dances, concerts – and Halloween, of course! It’s no wonder: they’re simple sources of short-term light, available in a range of fun colors.

But the post-glow reality is that they’re really not very eco-friendly:

• They’re not recyclable: besides the color-producing chemicals, glow sticks contain chemicals to keep the plastic flexible, and those same chemicals make the plastic unsuitable for recycling.
• We use an awful lot of them: 100 million a year, according to one website on the subject
• Some end up in the ocean: where they may be eaten by marine life or float for a long, long time.

What to do?

• Reduce, the first R: strive to go without when possible
• Use alternatives: for safety, consider reflective strips; for visibility, use an LED flashlight or headlamp. (For bonus points: power them with rechargeable batteries!)

Have fun and be safe for Halloween or your next social event – but strive to do it without glow sticks!

Uncluttering gifts

‘When it comes to presents, give uncluttering gifts a try’

It’s well known that decluttering our lives helps us have more energy, less stress and more happiness – and it’s also well known that prevention is better than cure. So why not opt for uncluttering gifts this year? Here are some ideas:

Massages, manicures, pedicures, movies, bowling, whale watching, art gallery memberships, cooking or craft classes, gift cards, a favourite recipe with all the ingredients included, a nice bottle of (local) wine, a donation to a cause or charity near and dear to the recipient’s heart (money, or some time volunteered by you on behalf of the recipient), free babysitting… you get the picture! Take a minute and you’ll surely come up with more ideas yourself.

Happy uncluttering Holidays!

Theme and suggestions courtesy of a column by Anne Marie Hartford with the above title in yesterday’s Fredericton newspaper.

Sweet: an easy way to improve people’s lives

Look for Fair Trade chocolate this Hallowe’en

Just about everyone loves chocolate – but here’s a bit of reality that isn’t so sweet: most of the world’s cocoa (the key ingredient in chocolate) is grown in West Africa by small producers who barely eke out a living, and child labour is widespread. The store that sells you a chocolate bar typically makes a lot more money on it than the farmer who produced the cocoa in the first place.

So why not look for the Fair Trade logo when you shop for treats? Fair Trade is an international certification system whereby farmers receive a reliable and decent income that helps them live better lives, and can even elevate their families and communities out of poverty. And it’s not an empty certification: Fair Trade products are independently monitored to ensure they meet standards of financial and environmental sustainability.

Fair Trade products still only represent a small share of the total chocolate market, so you’ll have to look for them. But Cadbury, Ferrero, Mars, Nestle and Hershey’s have a few Fair Trade products and are working toward the goal of 100% sustainable, ethical cocoa by 2020. As well, a list of lesser-known brands presently offering Fair Trade chocolate (and other products) can be found here.

So – why not choose Fair Trade chocolate at Hallowe’en and anytime? You’ll be bringing a bit of sweetness to the lives of the people who grow it for you.